Short Summary

NEW YORK POLICE AND THE F-B-I HAVE CRACKED A KIDNAPPING CASE. THEY'VE FOUND A 10-DAY-OLD?

Description

NEW YORK POLICE AND THE F-B-I HAVE CRACKED A KIDNAPPING CASE. THEY'VE FOUND A 10-DAY-OLD BABY LIVE AND WELL, AND HAVE PICKED UP A 43-YEAR-OLD WOMAN AS THE SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER.

LISA ROSE CHIONCHIO (CQ) DISAPPEARED FROM THE NURSERY OF A BROOKLYN HOSPITAL ON THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 2ND, JUST TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS AFTER SHE WAS BORN. HOSPITAL ATTENDANTS TOLD OF SEEING A BLEACHED_BLONDE WOMAN LOITERING IN THE CORRIDORS. LAST NIGHT, THE INFANT WAS FOUND IN THE BROOKLYN APARTMENT OF MRS. JEAN IAVARONE (CQ)
A WIDOW WITH SEVEN LIVING CHILDREN. EARLY THIS MORNING -- NBC'S GABE PRESSMAN TALKED TO NEW YORK'S CHIEF OF DETECTIVES -- JAMES LEGGETT.

IN NEW YORK THERE'S HAPPY ENDING TO AN INTENSIVE 10-DAY SEARCH. A KIDNAPPED BABY HAS BEEN FOUND ALIVE AND WELL, AND THE SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER IS IN CUSTODY. POLICE AND THE F-B-I SAY THAT LISA ROSE CHIONCHIO (KEY-ON-KEY'-ON) (CQ) -- BORN JANUARY 2ND -- WAS FOUND IN THE BROOKLYN APARTMENT OF MRS. JEAN IAVARONE.

POLICE SAY THE 43-YEAR OLD WOMAN, A WIDOW WITH SEVEN LIVING CHILDREN, WILL BE BOOKED ON KIDNAPPING CHARGES. LISA ROSE WAS TAKEN FROM A BROOKLYN HOSPITAL NURSERY ONLY TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS AFTER SHE WAS BORN. SHE'S BACK IN THE HOSPITAL THIS MORNING, WHERE SHE'S REPORTED "HEALTHY." HER FATHER, FRANK CHIONCHIO (CQ) IDENTIFIED HER -- AND NOW....
.....SMILES SHOULD REPLACE THE SAD AND EMPTY LOOKS ON THE FACES OF STUNNED PARENTS. POLICE SAY AN ANONYMOUS PHONE CALL BROKE THE CASE.

THIS WAS THE SCENE AT ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL IN BROOKLYN (further Place Info) AS NEWSMEN GATHERED EARLY THIS MORNING TO GET A REPORT FROM F-B-I AGENT H. G. FOSTER.

A HAPPY ENDING TO A KIDNAPPING STORY.

IN THE LIVES OF TWO YOUNG BROOKLYN PARENTS...HOPE WAS TOMORROW....AND TOMORROW IS HERE. A WONDERFULLY HAPPY ENDING TO THE STORY -- LITTLE LISA ROSE
CHIONCHIO IS ALIVE AND SAFE.

KIDNAPPED NINE DAYS AGO FROM A BROOKLYN HOSPITAL -- FOUND LAST NIGHT BY POLICE.

AND F-B-I AGENTS IN A SPARSELY-FURNISHED APARTMENT.

....A FEW HOURS AGO -- REUNION WITH HER PARENTS -- MR. AND MRS. FRANK CHIONCHIO -- THE ANSWER TO A MOTHER'S PRAYER.

IN A MOTHER'S ARMS TO_NIGHT -- INFANT LISA ROSA ---
IN CUSTODY -- AND ACCUSED OF THE ABDUCTION -- A 43-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHERS....
HERSELF.....MOTHER OF EIGHT.

CASEBOOK ON A KIDNAPPING --
ONLY A BRIEF RECOUNTING OF THE FACTS IS NECESSARY TO SET THE SCENE....
LISA ROSE CHIONCHIO -- TAKEN FROM HER CRIB IN ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL IN BROOKLYN -- THE NIGHT OF JANUARY SECOND.

THE KIDNAPPER -- VAGUELY DESCRIBED BY WITNESSES AS A "HEAVILY-BUILT"....BLEACHED BLONDE."
A SPECIAL TELEPHONE LINE TO TAKE CONFIDENTIAL TIPS ON THE CASE -- WAS INSTALLED IN THE 82ND PRECINCT STATION.

MANY FROM RANKS -- THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED.....

BUT YESTERDAY -- THE 320TH CALL PROVED TO BE A BEGINNING OF THE END....
A WOMAN'S VOICE -- AN ANONYMOUS TIP, WHICH LED STRAIGHT TO 43-YEAR-OLD MRS. JEAN IAVARONE.....

....IN A CLUTTERED ONE-ROOM APARTMENT ON ST. MARKS AVENUE __12 HOURS LATER TO BE BOOKED ON A KIDNAPPING CHARGE -- DENYING THE ACCUSATION -- INSISTING THAT THE BABY IS HER OWN -- THAT IT WAS BORN UNATTENDED AND OUT-OF-WEDLOCK....NINE DAYS AGO.

STICKING TO THAT STORY EVEN AFTER THE INFANT WAS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED BY BLOOD-TYPE -- AND FOOT PRINTS. HERE, THE ACTUAL BOOKING.....

....MRS. IAVARONE....ALL BUT HIDDEN BY NEWSMEN....MARRIED TWICE....NOW A WIDOW. MOTHER OF EIGHT CHILDREN -- ONE DEAD, THE OTHERS -- RANGING IN AGE FROM 3 TO 21 YEARS -- HONE OF THEM MAKING THEIR HOME WITH HER. A CRUMBLING FACADE .... A WELTER OF TEARS.....

...POLICE UNABLE TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHY SEE DID IT.....SHE STILL MAINTAINS IT'S HER BABY.....TANGLED EMOTIONS APPARENTLY RUN DEEP IN THIS 43-YEAR-OLD WOMAN.

ARRANGEMENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL TOMORROW.....

SINCE HER LAWYER WAS UNABLE TO APPEAR THIS AFTERNOON, SEE WAS TAKEN TO THE WOMAN'S HOUSE OF DETENTION IN MANHATTAN.

....AND SO, AFTER TEN DAYS -- AND ONE OF THE MOST INTENSIVE SEARCHES IN NEW YORK CITY HISTORY -- THE TRAIL ENDED LAST NIGHT -- LESS THAN A MILE FROM ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL -- AND ONLY ONE-AND-A-HALF BLOCKS FROM BROOKLYN POLICE HEADQUARTERS
THAT'S THE COLD, LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF THE CASE....
BUT THE REAL DRAMA -- A STORY, WHICH LIVES IN THE HEARTS OF ALL PARENTS -- IS THE ONE, WHICH UNFOLDED IN A BROOKLYN HOME.....TODAY.

....THE HOME OF MRS. CHIONCHIO'S PARENTS -- A HOUSE FULL OF JOY -- CROWDED WITH HAPPY RELATIVES -- SURROUNDING A MOTHER....A FATHER.... A SCENE SPEAKING FOR ITSELF....ON EVERY FACE A SMILE....INCLUDING THE CHIONCHIO'S OTHER DAUGHTER--JUST 18 MONTHS OLD.

TEN DAYS AGO, A BABY TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS OLD WAS KIDNAPPED FROM A BROOKLYN HOSPITAL. EARLY THIS MORNING, THE BABY WAS RECOVERED MIRACULOUSLY ALIVE AND WELL. A MOTHER OF SEVEN CHILDREN HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING.

AT BROOKLYN'S BUTLER STREET POLICE STATION -- A BLEACHED-BLONDE HEAVY-SET WOMAN OF 43 -- WHO DEPT HIDING HER FACE -- WAS BOOKED TODAY ON A KIDNAPPING CHARGE -- ENDING A TEN DAYS INTENSIVE POLICE HUNT. THIS IS MRS. JEAN IAVARONE -- ONCE DIVORCED, ONCE WIDOWED, HERSELF THE MOTHER OF SEVEN CHILDREN -- WHO KIDNAPPED LISA ROSE CHIONCHIO -- 150 MINUTES OLD FROM ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL. MRS. IAVARONE KEPT THE BABY IN THE SHABBY ROOMING HOUSE, WHERE SHE LIVED. LISA ROSE WAS UNHARMED. SHE HAD BEEN WELL-CARED FOR. MRS. IAVARONE'S OWN CHILDREN WERE IN ORPHANAGES OR FOSTER HOMES. HER ELDEST SON DIED LAST SUMMER SHE COULD NOT CARE FOR HER OWN.

THIS AFTERNOON -- FRANK AND FRANCES CHIONCHIO -- SURROUNDED BY CAMERAMEN -- WENT TO THE HOSPITAL, WHERE THEIR CHILD WAS BORN -- AND FROM HER SHE WAS KIDNAPPED -- FOR THE REUNION WITH THEIR BABY. I JUST WANT TO GET THAT BABY IN MY ARMS -- MRS. CHIONCHIO KEPT REPEATING ON HER WAY TO THE HOSPITAL. SHE CLAIMED SHE HAD NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO HOLD HER CHILD BEFORE SHE WAS KIDNAPPED. LISA ROSE APPEARED TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION -- OBVIOUSLY COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF EVERYTHING. MRS. CHIONCHIO OVERCOME WITH EMOTION -- SAID ONLY SHE WAS SORRY FOR THE KIDNAPPER.

A PLUMP, DISHEVELLED WIDOW WITH BLEACHED ORANGE HAIR IS BEING HELD TO-LIGHT WITHOUT BAIL AS THE ACCUSED KIDNAPPER OF LISA ROSE CHIONCHIO FROM ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL IN BROOKLYN TEN DAYS AGO:
THE TWICE-MARRIED WIDOW, 43-YEAR-OLD MRS. JEAN IAVARONE, APPEARED DAZED AND BEWILDERED WHEN SHE WAS BOOKED FOR THE CRIME. SHE INSISTED LISA WAS HER CHILD EVEN WHEN MEDICAL EXAMINATION DISPROVED HER STORY THAT SHE BORE THE CHILD ALONE AROUND JANUARY 2ND....AND WHEN LISA ROSE WAS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THROUGH FOOT-PRINTS AND BY HER FATHER, FRANK CHIONCHIO, WHO FIRST SAW HER SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH.

MRS. IAVARONE IS THE MOTHER OF RIGHT CHILDREN....SEVEN OF THEM LIVING....NONE OF THEM LIVING WITH HER. POLICE ARE THEORIZING THAT THE WOMAN WANTED A NEWBORN CHILD TO ENTRAP A BOY FRIEND INTO MATRIMONY. LISA ROSE WAS IN GOOD HEALTH WHEN FOUND BY POLICE, WHO CAME TO MRS. IAVARONE'S APARTMENT ON A TELEPHONE TIP. NBC'S GAB PRESSMAN TALKED WITH THE HAPPY PARENTS A FEW HOURS AFTER LISA ROSE WAS FOUND:
THE CHIONCHIOS HAD REPEATEDLY APPEALED TO THE KIDNAPPER OF THEIR BABY TO RETURN HER TO THEM. DO THEY FEEL BITTER TOWARD THE STRANGE WOMAN, WHO STOLE THEIR CHILD? MRS. CHIONCHIO SPEAKS:
NARRATION, LEADING INTO PART II - "11TH HOUR NEWS":
LATER THE CHIONCHIO'S WENT TO THE HOSPITAL TO SEE TINY LISA ROSE, WHO NOW WEIGHS IN AT 7 POUNDS ONE OUNCE. THE PARENTS SHOVED THEIR WAY THOROUGH A HAPPY THRONG TO WELL-WISHERS AND NEWSMEN:
MRS. CHIONCHIO, ALL SMILES, SAID "I JUST WANT TO GET THAT BABY IN MY ARMS. I SAW HER JUST AFTER SHE WAS BORN....BUT I NEVER HELD HER."
MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT LISA ROSE WOULD NEVER BE SEEN ALIVE AGAIN. INSTEAD, SHE'S BACK SAFE AND SOUND. THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL, DE. VINCENT MAZZOLA (CQ). PUTS INTO WORDS THE THOUGHTS OF MANY WHEN HE SAYS, "ON BEHALF OF THE SISTERS OF THE HOSPITAL, WE WANT TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO THE MULTITUDE OF PERSONS, WHO PRAYED FOR THE BABY'S SAFE RETURN."
THEY SAY THAT LISA ROSE'S ONLY COMMENT TO DATE IS A LARGE, HEALTHY YAWN.

NEW YORK POLICE HAVE INDICATED THAT A 43-YEAR-OLD WOMAN KIDNAPPED A NEW-BORN BABY SEVEN DAYS AGO, BECAUSE SHE HOPED THAT BY SO DOING, SHE WOULD RECOVER CUSTODY OF FOUR OF HER EIGHT CHILDREN.

POLICE BELIEVE THAT SHE WANTED TO PASS THE CHILD OFF AS HER OWN IN ORDER TO PERSUADE A BOY FRIEND TO MARRY HER. BY RE-ESTABLISHING A HOME SHE MAY HAVE HOPED TO REGAIN CUSTODY OF FOUR OF HER OWN CHILDREN, WHO ARE IN AN ORPHANAGE. MRS. FRANK CHIONCHIO, MOTHER OF THE KIDNAPPED BABY, FELT NO BITTERNESS -- ONLY COMPASSION TOWARD THE KIDNAPPER. SHE HAD THIS TO SAY.